I am The Tiger in the Country of Dragons
by Eclissy
Summary: I am the enemy of many. I bring pain and suffering. I am selfish and destructive. I am a monster that wishes for a happy ending. (Related to Double Edged)
1. Prologue: I Am Here

**I Am Here**

In a right world, there is a balance of light and dark. In a just world, there is nothing to fear from the dark or light.

People avoid the dark the most. It is a scary unknown place where anything can lurk. A useful tool for those of sinister intent. In the light, nothing is secret. All is as is. All is warm and safe.

In a large bustling town, the light touched almost everything. In the day, the bright rays of the sun would shine on the town's denizens as they went on about their business. At night, the stars and the moon glow, comforting them as they slept.

The imperial palace overlooked the town; the great capital of a grand country. Paper lanterns strung the roofs of the palace day and night as the light spirits convened with the emperor, the eighth of the Xie Dynasty, working together for the sake of the people.

Because of this, the people had not a care in the world.

The town's people rushed up and down the near gold paved streets in extravagant clothing. The shops were always booming. Street vendors shouted their wares to the populace and colorful performers danced to flutes and drums as children clap and laugh with their parents.

They run in and out of the shadows of the alleyways for those were the only shadows in their world. No shadows lived in their hearts.

One child trips over something soft, cold and damp. The child stumbles and looks into the shadows, wondering what tripped him up. He sees it and shudders, covers his mouth and runs.

He had tripped over a dying and dirtied street rat, his emaciated hand reaching out for help.

This street rat, not even a decade old, was terrified of this town's light. Some days he would be brave and venture out into the sun only to be shoved back into the shadows with disgust and revolt.

The light had rejected him; he was lost.

And today, he had been rejected again.

His hand drops on his lap and he lets his aching head fall back on the damp wall. He sat in a dark alleyway, watching the town's people. The scent of the food that the street vendors sold made his belly ache and the sight of a family watching a street performer made his heart ache.

It was a different ache though.

That family was a family of five. The father stood tall with his arm around his wife, who leaned up to whisper something in his ear. Whatever it was made him blush and he forces himself to frown to keep himself from smiling. The woman gently elbowed his ribs, giggling herself and they both dissolve into a fit of laughter. Their son glances back up at them and so do his two younger sisters. He shook his head and he turned his sisters' heads back to watch the performer, telling them that the adults were being silly again.

Jealousy curled around the street rat's heart. He would give anything to replace that boy. Anything.

If he had anything that is. He didn't so he turned away from the family, knowing that watching any longer would be meaningless.

His eyes were dry; he dearly wanted to go to sleep. He should get up to find somewhere softer to sleep on but his legs wouldn't move. No matter what he did, he could not will them to move. Even if he did somehow get on his feet, his bones would most likely shatter.

There was no point in moving anyway. He had a feeling that when he closes his eyes, he would never open them again.

The faint rise and fall of his chest slows and he turns his head down, accepting that this was what life was. Maybe death was going to be fairer.

In the back of his deteriorating mind, he jokingly thanks the shadows and the dark for shielding him from the burn of the light as his eyelids began to fall.

The darkness answers back.

"Whoa there guy," An ethereal voice rouses him. "This is a sad ending. A very sad ending," The voice tsks. "It's not a very exciting one either. C'mon guy, what's a kid like you doing in the dark? I didn't think your kind liked us."

The boy croaked "Are you…death?"

"Who? Me? Pffft, no way!" the voice protests. "I'm definitely not that stick in the mud. Such a downer that guy. Then again, you're being a pretty big downer too. All this rejection, the light hurts and crap. If you don't like the light that much, why not fully immerse yourself in the dark? No sunburns that's for sure…Say, that gives me an idea."

The boy, for the first time in his life, felt an embrace. Shadowy tendrils wrapped around his waist and pull him down and down.

"Y'know, I'm new around these parts and I guess this is a good time as any to try something new too. I've never contracted with someone like you before. Heehee, we'll have so much fun together, you'll never want to step back into the polluted world of light ever again."

The voice giggles and it makes the boy quiver.

As he sinks deeper into the abyss, cold pierces his core and if he had the strength, he would've screamed. But somewhere in all that pain, he felt a kind of joy, a kind of satisfaction. He welcomes the cold and is enveloped by the darkness.

In a bustling town overlooked by the imperial palace in a great capital of a grand country, a dark and damp alley way becomes deserted.

A child runs back, a bag of dumplings in his hand. He runs back into the alley, searching for the poor boy who looked so hungry it made him want to cry. That boy was gone now.

How strange. He was only gone for ten minutes at most. He had wanted to share these dumplings with the boy.

The child's shoulders sag and he steps back out into the light of the sun.

* * *

**Author notes: Hello, this is a new story. I'll keep this brief. It's related to Double Edged a teensy bit. You do not have to read this to understand Double Edged and you do not have to read Double Edged to understand this. Maybe.**

**How the two are related, I will not say how.**

**The summary is going to need to change soon.**

**I also hesitated to put this in the Dragonfable Archive. I am thinking of just putting this in the Misc. Archive. I'm debating this because more elements of dragonfable are coming up but it seems iffy right now.**

**Another thing, there won't be many author notes for this. Saying too much might spoil a whole truckfull of things that I'm planning for both stories and others that maybe related.**

**this will also be updated sparsely as Double Edged is my main focus though the two are connected. As DE goes on, this will also be updated more often.**

**So thank you for reading, reviews are helpful and more will come soon. Good night/morning/afternoon/day/holidays.**


	2. Chapter 1: I Am Of Those Who Are Feared

**Ah, thank you so much for your reviews! I can't thank you enough but I hope this quick chapter will suffice. Before I get into some technical stuff, let me do some reviewer replies:**

**The White Camellia: EEK! Please don't apologize! And don't be sad either *waves around rabbit sock puppet* I really love your reviews and it's really great that you've been reading my work all this time. I would write you a sonnet if I could write sonnets well! Thank you for the favourite too!**

**Kaiban: Wow, you're making me blush again. You sure have a lot of theories and that's sweet! About my characters, I do have a plan for each one of them and I'm really glad it looks like I know what I'm doing. **

** There are some overall statements that I want to make since both of you mentioned similar things in your reviews.**

** Might as well just say it now because of a character appearing in this chapter. This story is a prequel to Double Edged. How things will develop will be played out slowly as Double Edged continues.**

** Both of you mentioned the voice and I can't say anything beyond the fact that you will see more of the voices as we move on.**

** The title isn't really all that important. It has to do with the significance of Tigers and Dragons in Chinese traditions/myths/cultural stuff. The tiger and dragon are Buddhist symbols that represent ying and yang but are also mortal enemies that are unable to fully conquer the other. They balance each other out though and with a title like "I am The Tiger in the Country of Dragons" indicates that…stuff will go down. We'll end it there.**

** And here's the thing that worries me about this story. Though this is a prequel to the Dragonfable fanfiction DE, it is in a different universe from Lore. There are similarities to Lore though so it isn't entirely different. I am thinking that a story like this might not belong in the DF archive but I'm not sure where else to put it. If you have any suggestions or advice, it'd be a great help.**

**I've been talking too much. Let's move on. **

**I Am Of Those Who Are Feared**

"Lang? What are you thinking about?" The voice whispers in his ear.

"Memories of when we first met, Master. This city reminds me of the city where you came to rescue me." Lang breathes in the cool night air, savouring the taste of the first night this city had seen in decades.

"Yes. It does look like that shabby old town. With more English curse words though. And with much less fire." The voice cackles maniacally as Lang opens his eyes.

He stands on a cliff watching a city burn in dark flames.

This wasn't just any city. It was one of the largest and strongest capitals in this country. It was crowned with the name Beacon.

Not only that, it was the home base of the strongest wielder of Light and the Being of Light he contracted with. The undefeated and all powerful Master Excalibur.

The tall towers of the city reached to the sky and the Castle could have been scraping the bottom of the heavens itself. For years, they casted no shadow. No Darkness had entered these gold paved roads; any Being of Darkness or their vassal who dared entered these walls would have been obliterated the moment Excalibur had sensed them.

The people bathed in the light and peace and travelers came from all over to pay tribute to the mightiest warrior in the world. Excalibur and his vassal lead the war against the Darkness and none had even managed to scrape the metal of his armored boots.

He was a being to be feared.

Until now at least.

The vibrant forests that surrounded Beacon caught fire first. A black flame flickered to life on a dry leaf and a light breeze, no more than a strangled breath, blew the fire and it spread the flame until a raging fire lit up the entire forest.

The people of the city began to panic as these shadowy flames invaded their home, leaping over the city's walls. The towers were turned into pillars of inky black fire and the people's attempt to douse the flames ended in failure. All they could do was try to flee into the sanctuary of Excalibur's castle.

Then the flames came to life. They step out of the shadows, striking down the innocents of the city. Monstrous anomalies surge out of the flames, devouring the light and letting the darkness spread into the city, quickly approaching the castle.

The soldiers, mages and any other so called hero fight back against these monsters. Their spells and swords do nothing and many a brave soul was burned into ash and scattered into the wind.

Lang had just arrived when the chaos had begun, materializing from the shadows in his sleek black armor, imbued by his master with its insidious magic. Through his helmet, gold eyes regarded the great event and his master's laugh echoes in his mind.

A necromancer followed behind him. She was another who contracted with the voice that whispered in her ear.

"Shall we join this attack?" The necromancer asks, cracking her knuckles. The hood she wore completely hid her face but even a blind man could see her wicked grin.

Their master's essence was fused with their armor. That was what an outsider could tell.

"Wait! I sense another coming closer," the voice whispers to its vassals. The two turn around and watch as other Beings of Darkness and their vassals, attracted by the power of the shadows attacking Beacon, step into existence.

There were many and their vassals, human and otherwise, obeyed their orders to come and watch the shadow burn Beacon. Some were larger than the greatest of dragons, all were fearsome and dangerous in their own right, many had committed atrocities so heinous that even the gods even shudder at their names and all bow to Lang and the necromancer.

"Hmmph. Small fry." The necromancer huffs before turning her attention back to the carnage.

"Bwargalalglalglarg!" The monsters part, creating a pathway for another monster. A monster among monsters. A hunched over figure steps forward and approaches the two followed by almost a legion of its vassals. The others dare not watch it for long lest they were to be absorbed by the figure's aura. Its very presence made the air grow heavy and each footstep it took withered the grass it trampled on.

"Well, isn't this a surprise. You were invited here too?" The voice cackles, greeting the hunched over figure like an old acquaintance. It garbles and snarls in reply. "Why thank you. I'm feeling quite excited myself."

"Oh gods, what's happening?" A desperate cry sounds and the monsters part to make a path for this being as well. A lanky boy sprints to the convening monsters of monsters, wearing fine rogue's armor and a lustrous bow on his back. "Is that Beacon? Are those people in danger! Is this your doing, you fiends?" The boy demands. His master, its essence attached to the boy's bow, stammers a shy greeting.

"You came too? Ooh, we're having a cute little reunion!" The voice laughs joyfully, making Lang smile.

"It is nice to see you again, friend." Lang nods to the boy and the necromancer bows slightly.

"Blagargalbalgrag!" The hunched over figure reaches out a sleeved arm the boy's hand, glad to see him again.

The boy reaches over as well and just before they could shake, the boy gives it the finger and an angry frown. Slowly, the hunched over figure retracts its arm and bows its head.

"Fuck you guys," he growls at the three before turning his attention to the crowd behind him. "Stop bowing to me. I'm not your leader!"

"_But sssssssssssire-" _An armored scarred Lizard Man speaks up and earns an arrow in the shoulder. "_Sssssssssssssssorry."_

"Oh I bet you are, you evil motherfuckers. If you excuse me, I got to go help those people!" He prepares to leap over the cliff towards the distressed citizens of Beacon but stops in his tracks when a beam of light shoots into the sky from the castle and lights the sky. The beam shoots towards the sun its rays intensify, eradicating the first night.

"Who dares bring Darkness into the heart of Beacon?" A thunderous voice booms across the city. A man in divine golden armor and a flowing white cape steps out into the highest balcony of the castle and stabs his splendid sword into the floor. A wave of white light shoots out from the sword, forcing the darkness out of the city.

The Beings of Darkness screech in pain from their vantage point on the cliff.

"Master, we must flee!" Lang warns his master. The other Beings of Darkness were already in the midst of doing so, disappearing in droves.

"Oh fuck cheese!" The boy swears and turns to run. "No way am I facing down Excalibur. He's going to murder us all!"

"Wait!" The voice in Lang's mind shouts. "The one throwing our party is about to make his grand entrance!"

Just as Lang registers his Master's words, the sun bursts into red flames and fizzles out, plunging the city back into darkness.

The only light left came from Excalibur.

"Excalibur!" A voice booms from below. "Come down from your perch so that I may extinguish the light of this cursed city!"

The dark fires flare up once more and surges across the city, engulfing all but the castle. The citizens cower and cry in fear inside the castle walls. Excalibur was the only one who could save them and they pray for his victory against the coming Darkness.

The Being behind the invasion steps out of the shadows and with it, a giant shadowy phoenix flies out and soars around the castle. It sets the stones aflame and glides down to land on one of the castles tower, spreading its wings in a show of its Master's power.

"I am Annial!" The hulking Being shouts. It stands, towering above the fire minions who rush ahead towards the castle. Annial was immense and wore the armor of a seasoned and tyrannical warrior. Spikes protruded from its shoulder plates and curled horns adorned its helmet.

Annial raises a hand and a dark sword, mimicking the divine sword in Excalibur's hands, materializes from the shadows.

Excalibur leaps down from his high tower and lands meters from Annial, creating a huge crater and destroying Annial's nearby minions.

The two stand in silence, staring each other down.

"Do you know him? This Annial?" The voice inside Lang's head asks the others. "Do you think he'll beat Excalibur?"

"Blablargablarg…garglesplock."

"Hmmm, this guy must be new," The boy says, slinging his bow on his back again. "Master, you recognize him?" The boy asks his Master.

"Uh-uh. Not this one. This one must have just arrived from the Plane of Darkness," The boy's master rattles. "But this Annial is strong. I can feel it. We all do."

"Hmmm hmmm, this will be quite interesting. A grand battle between his, excellence Excalibur and the new comer." Lang's Master giggles. "Lang, Josephine," The voice addresses its vassals. "Watch closely and do not blink. This will surely be-"

Annial rushes forth, knocking Excalibur's sword out of his grip and stabs him through the chest.

"…Huh? What?" The voice stammers. "Did I miss something?"

Excalibur coughs as Annial twists his blade and raises him off of his feet.

"What? What?" The lanky boy rubs his eyes, making sure he wasn't just seeing things.

"Glarakanxib…" The hunched over figure tugs Josephine's sleeve.

"That's…Mon dieu." She gasps.

With a flick of his sword, Annial flings Excalibur's limp body up at the castle. His body crashes against the castle gates and Annial shadow steps to him just as he falls back on the ground. Excalibur clutches the wound in his chest as blood leaks on to the cobblestones. Annial stomps on his stomach and thrusts a fist into his chest.

Excalibur begins to scream in pain as he is ripped from his vassal's body. In a quick and almost laid back motion, Annial slices Excalibur's vassal's head off of his body.

"That's bullshit!" the lanky boy cries. "If I knew it was that easy to kill Excalibur, I would've just walked in myself!"

"How is this possible?" Lang breathes, watching the ball of light that was the Being Excalibur get squeezed in Annial's grip. "It cannot be. Master, there is something strange about this."

"Interesting," the voice comments. "Let us come down to meet Annial."

"I, Annial, claim the city of Beacon for the Darkness!" He raises Excalibur's essence, enveloping Excalibur in his shadows. "Watch as I, the mightiest of the Plane of Darkness, extinguish the king of light."

"I want to punch this guy in the balls," Josephine crosses her arms as the others bristle and Annial's proclamation. "May I?"

"In due time." The voice whispers in her ear.

"Get in line." The boy snarls.

"Ah, Lorant. She claimed the right first." His Master tells him gently.

"Look, he is absorbing Excalibur." Lang points as Annial begins to leech Excalibur's essence and power.

"Y-you won't get away with this. The others will-" Excalibur strains before dissipating completely.

"-Die by my hand and become a part of my strength," Annial finishes for Excalibur.

"Dwellers of the Dark!" Annial bellows as they shadow step down into the city to meet him. "I have called you, the three grandest and finest of the Darkness, here to witness the fall of Beacon and Excalibur. For the first time in eons-" Annial raises his hands to the darkening sky, the sun having been replaced by a red moon.

"Darkness has gained a foothold on the earth of this world. With my leadership, we will beat back the scourge of the Light and rule once more!"

The light of the city dies and clouds of a dark miasma flow in and engulf all into pitch black. The people of the city, trapped within their own home, tremble as they wait for their end.

"Hey, uh Annial was it?" The Lorant raises his hand.

"Yes?"

"Does the moon have to be red?"

**Author notes: Taadaa. Second chapter. Third might come out sooner than expected of me.**

**Um, so I'm working on three stories, soon to be four, at the same time now. Double Edged will be updating the most and I'll be updating I am the tiger in the country of dragons (I need to find the right abbreviation for that) and Crossed on the side.**

**This story has been in the making for quite some time now. I had to wait until chapter 26 was finished before I could put these up. Drat, I might have to write a guide on how to read my stories...that sounds terrible.**

**So what does this have to do with Dragonfable? Besides the fact that it is a prequel to DE, nothing much else. The voices/masters are similar to the Doom Weapons but they're still from a different universe. I'm still debating where I should put this story though. I am literally waiting for the fandom to break down my door and tell me to gtfo of the fandom for my crimes on the DF archive.**

**I wish my artist friend was still in town. She's gone to meet some relatives so don't have anyone to ask for help with character designs and art/sketches.**

**Even though this is short, I probably do have a million typos. Why is it that after a hundred times reading it, the moment I put it somewhere public, I can see all the problems. **

**Anyways, thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated and I hope you enjoyed this.**


	3. Chapter 2: I Will Bide My Time

**Once again, hello! Just before I leave for my vacation, I'll put this one chapter out. After some deliberating, I'm deciding to put this on the deviantart account I share with my artist friend, Electronelle. The link to our account is in my profile. So after the next chapter, expect stuff to pop up there instead of here. I'll post on chapters of Double Edged when I release a new chapter for this one. So, for our reviewer replies:**

**AlkaFeldspar: You know, I've always imagined that if I really made the fandom irritated enough, they'd storm my house and I'd hide in my bathroom with the kitchen knife while they break the door down with an ax. It's basically like The Shining. Now that I know that they'll crash through the wall, it'll make things more complicated. But, you already have some speculation going? Good, good. I hope this'll meet your expectations. I'm excited about where this is going too.**

**Kaiban: To clarify, this story is set in an entirely different universe so the elemental planes are different too. However, it shares many similarities with Lore's physics so there's that one connection and another big one coming soon. Of course, I can't say any more than that. You'll just have to stick around to find out what happens. Though in Double Edged, there are some hints to everyone's fates. Or there will be.*wink* *wink***

**Overall, thanks for the reviews and I'm very happy you guys are taking an interest in this. So let's get going. This is a very short chapter though so there really isn't much to comment on.**

**I Will Bide My Time**

"Our dear friend and leader, Excalibur, has perished." A young man bows his head. Both his voice and the voice of his master echoes across the grand hall as he stood before the throne that Excalibur had once occupied.

The man, wearing the white robes of the strongest battle mage in the world, addresses the masses gathered in the hall. Around his neck was a silver collar detailed with holly leaves that also decorated his robes. He keeps his hood up but no shadows hid his face and ashen hair.

He was flanked by two others. A young lady, holding a bouquet of white roses and sobbing quietly into a handkerchief, stands on his left. A white veil covered her face and her distinctive pale green hair that usually cascaded down her back was tied up into a bun in mourning.

Another man, much taller than the others, stands rigidly facing his audience of knights, noblemen and citizens. He holds his helmet in one hand and held a hand on his family crest on the other. His master tells him to relax; if he allowed himself to appear nervous it would scare the people. Hearing this, the man forces himself to let himself breathe and quickly wipes away the sweat forming on his brow.

"He fought courageously," The young man bearing the holly continues. "He fought until the last of his light was snuffed by the insidious forces of Darkness. If Excalibur were here now, he would urge us to forge on, to never let the shadows invade our hearts."

The masses applaud at his words, cheering and sobbing at the same time. The Lady chooses this moment to throw the bouquet high into the air. With her magic, she turns the bouquet into a shower of petals to rain down on her people.

They all look up at the sight of the petals waltzing in the air and at the mural on the ceiling high above. The mural, that had displayed a painting of the clear sky before, shifted to show Excalibur's excellence and accomplishments while he lived. The first time he set foot on the earth of this world, his victory against the dread archer, the momentous time he destroyed the Beings of Fire and assimilated their plane them into the Plane of Light and many more brush across the mural.

"Know that we will never forget him or what he has done for us." The Lady spreads her arms and their audience cheers louder.

"I promise to you that we will not let the Darkness spread any further. To lead us on our mission, my dear friend, Imperio, will take command," The man bearing the holly leaves bows to the man on his right and the Lady curtsies. "I know Excalibur would have wanted you to replace him."

The white petals floating above burst into dazzling sparkles to commemorate Imperio's rise. The people of the Light bow in respect to their new leader but Imperio raises his hand to stop them.

"I am honored that I have been elected to lead. Though we are facing dark times and we wish to mourn those we have lost to the Darkness, we have little time. If we are to obliterate the Darkness once and for all, we must act now," Imperio addresses the masses. "As your leaders, we will now convene with our allies to plan a counter-attack. Be ever vigilant, my friends. Never lose faith in the Light!"

Imperio finishes his speech and the three of them disappear in a brilliant flash of light as the masses applaud and marvel at their leaders.

Imperio and the others reappear on the balcony overlooking the city of Elpida. Once it stood second to Beacon in brilliance.

"But no longer." The man bearing the robes of holly whispers to himself, touching the collar around his neck.

Elpida was a mixture of cultures and its architecture was varied. It was built in a valley surrounded by the protection of the high mountains that casted no shadows. The palace the three were in now had been built into the tallest mountain in the valley long ago. They could see every detail of Elpida from their perch above.

"We are missing one." The Lady sighs, tugging off her veil and tossing it into the wind. The veil dissipates into olive leaves as the Lady lets her hair down.

"I got his message," Imperio sags his shoulders. "He couldn't make it."

"Is there a reason?"

"He overslept."

"I expected that," The Lady frowns at her colleague's indolence. "Shall we go in now? I feel that we have made them wait for too long."

"What shall we tell them, Persephine?" Imperio asks.

"We will see to the threat of the Darkness. Holly?" Persephine glances at the man leaning over the railing. "Do you know of the Being who defeated Excalibur and his strongest vassal?"

"He is new. He calls himself Annial. Fresh from the accursed Plane of Darkness. He is abnormally strong and has taken control of a particularly talented vassal associated with fire." Holly pulls his hood off slowly.

"To take an entire city, guarded by Excalibur no less, by himself is an incredible feat." Imperio looks back to the curtained doors behind them.

Beyond the curtains was a large circular room. Kings and Queens were sitting in wait for the greatest Beings of Light to fill the highest four seats in the room. Only three would be occupied today.

"I hear that he was not alone." Persephine brushes one of the grape vines growing on the railing of the balcony. She plucks a green grape and squishes it between her index and thumb before tossing it away once she lost interest.

"Those three were summoned by him, weren't they?" Holly remarks. "You know who I am referring to?"

"The three who stand opposite to us. They have become four with the addition of Annial," Imperio nods. "Abyss. It was there. The one who controls the masses. The one who embodies the most primal of fears. Those who look at Abyss will forever lose themselves to Darkness."

"The Hunter. The Dread Archer came late I heard," Persephine plucks a leaf off of the grape vine and begins to tear it into shreds. "One of the stranger Beings. Has a strange name as well. He and his vassal, Lorant, have never missed a shot. Fast is he in the shadows. Swift and formidable enough to wound Excalibur in a fight. He is one of Darkness and Storms."

"Whisper," Holly grips the railing, keeping himself steady. He leans back, staring up into the sky and smiling wickedly. This disturbs Imperio and Persephine materializes a fan out of the grape vine and spreads it in front of her face to hide a smile. "The most peculiar. Hides in the Darkness of one's soul, mind and heart. Whispers sweet nothings. All vassals that have come under the control of Whisper came willingly. For now, there are only two who bear Whisper.

"They were scattered once and they were all very powerful. Now that they are united by Annial, they pose an even greater danger," Imperio shudders at their names. "Who knows what they may be planning now."

**That's it for now. The first few chapters are introductions. The plot wheels have just started spinning and we'll find out what the others are planning next chapter. (Just another note; if I have missed any errors and someone notifies me on a review or otherwise, I won't be able to fix it till I get back from my trip which I am leaving for in about three hours so please don't be angry).**


	4. Chapter 3: I Shall Play The Dragon

**Hello again friends. This was meant to be the second half of last chapter but I decided that keeping them apart would be better. Now that you've seen what the side of Light is like, let's get back to our main characters. But first Reviewer replies:**

**AlkaFeldspar: I'm hoping I'll surprise you with what I have planned so I'll take that as a challenge! The wheels of the plot do indeed go round and round and round and it'll be a bumpy ride for sure. What fun.**

**Kaiban: The forces of Darkness were indeed scattered and it'll be explained more in this chapter. I can't say much cause it might give away a few details so we'll just have to see what happens~**

**I Shall Play the Dragon**

"So, Anal-"

"It. Is. Annial!" Annial slams a fist on the table, threatening to split it in two. "Annial, as in Annihilate. I annihilate all those in my way!"

"Ah," Whisper laughs. "So your self-given name is Analate. Quirky."

The greatest of the Plane of Darkness had gathered in what was once the meeting place of Excalibur and his colleagues. Now sitting in the tallest tower of the ruined castle in Beacon were the monsters among monsters.

"As I was saying," Annial continues, choosing to ignore Whisper's antics in favor of gaining the waning attention of the others lounging at the table.

Lorant was absent mindedly plucking the bowstring of his bow, Abyss was muttering to itself and Lang and Josephine remained silent save for a strange clipping noise coming from Lang's lap.

"I have gathered you here to discuss our goals. As I have demonstrated my power by defeating the wretched Excalibur and his puny vassal, it should be fitting that you bow to me as your leader in our mission against the light."

"I'm sure you'd like that, Anal." Whisper snickers. Josephine laughs loudly at her master's words while Lang remained silent, busying his hands with something else.

"I am Annial!" Annial shouts, shaking the tower.

"Just ignore Whisper," Lorant sighs, steadying his chair. "Whisper's just trying to get a rise out of you. It's working beautifully by the way. Though with a name like that, you're asking for it."

"Rrrrrg…" Annial stifles a growl before coughing to clear his throat. "We are aiming for the same goal and if we are to succeed in that, you will follow me as I plunge this world back into the perfect Darkness that existed before the other Planes polluted us. We will extinguish the light once and for all!"

"Can someone open the curtains? Pitch black is really boring." Lorant yawns, leaning himself on the round table.

"Gladly." With a wave of her gloved hand, Josephine slides the curtains open. The soft blue light of the moon filters in through the window, illuminating the room and casting dark shadows on the marbled floor. The moon appeared so close that it was as if the tower itself stood beside the white pearl in the sky.

"Thank you. This is perfect," Lang places a potted flowering plant on to the table along with his small garden shears. "Moonlight will do well for the nightshade." He brushes a hand over the dark purple flowers. Normally, the petals of the nightshade flowers would not have been so dark but as it was raised in the shadows with Lang's magic, they were darker than a starless night. The golden center of the flowers stood out even more thanks to Lang's workings.

"Before you start complaining that we aren't listening, let me ask you something," Lang leers at Annial and his shaking shoulders. Annial was ready to throw one of them out of the tower. "When did you become conscious? A few days? A little over a week at most?"

"I had crossed over four days ago and found my vassal on that same day," Annial glares back at Lorant with a murderous intent. "Yesterday, I had defeated the most powerful Light Being on this planet. I am surprised that with how weak he was, all of you have still let him terrorize and treat you like rats."

Annial was taunting them but the others exchanged a guarded look at one another before Lorant speaks again.

"Hmph. I'd ask you if you want to take your accusation outside but I really don't see the fucking point of fist fighting with a baby," Lorant shakes his head in disappointment. "You really don't know anything about this world, do you?"

"Aaaeeeinnnnngggggggggggggggggggggrrrrrrrr." Abyss slurs glumly.

"Lang, they've grown quite well." Whisper compliments Lang's flowers from the back of his mind, losing interest in the conversation completely.

"I have slain the one who has hunted all of you to near extinction! I demand respect!" Annial stands, hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Not with that attitude. But I suppose we should at least give you an explanation. Sit." Lorant languidly points downwards and suddenly, Annial was forced back into his seat.

"How-"

"There are several things that we're going to straighten out for you," Lorant scratches the back on his head, interrupting Annial. "Number one, go fuck yourself. We don't bow to anyone. Number two, everyone has conflicting agendas."

"I have no particular interest in going back to the so called Perfect Darkness," Whisper's voice muses. "I do want things to go back to how they used to be; with all of us being equal. That way, I'd have an easier time playing around."

"And by that, Whisper means 'messing shit up' and such." Lorant narrows his eyes at Josephine and Lang.

"Couldn't have worded it better myself." Whisper laughs airily.

"I will obey whatever my master commands gladly." Lang caresses one of the flowers and glances at Lorant briefly.

"Je m'en fous…Excuse me. Force of habit." Josephine coughs. "As long as I have places to go and a place to belong, I don't care."

"As for myself, I want to either be on the other side of the planet from you assfucks or kill you," Lorant places his bow on the table, leering at his companions. "It'd make the world a safer place but unfortunately, I can't do that. Fucking rules." Lorant grumbles.

"Oh don't say that, Lorant," His master says quietly. "You don't mean that. We're all friends here."

"No we aren't." Lorant snorts, turning his nose up at the others.

"Erererererererererererererererererrrrrr." Abyss speaks, tapping the table nervously.

"Right, back to the topic at hand," Lorant scratches the back of his head. "That's what Abyss wants and that's very far from your goal. Moving on to number three, it is impossible to achieve the Perfect Darkness and destroy the Plane of Light. Absolutely impossible. As much as I hate those fuckers, we can't destroy them."

"Impossible?" Annial repeats, rising from his chair. "You are mistaken," he laughs. "I will not have a mere vassal speak to me in such a manner. You," he addresses Lorant's master directly. "What is your title?"

"Dennis."

"I didn't quite hear you. I thought you just told me that Dennis was your title."

"Yup. It's Dennis."

"Still better than Anal," Lorant snickers but catches himself quickly. "Ehem, not that I'm siding with the others."

"Control your vassal," Annial orders, glaring at Lorant. "Your servant should know his place."

"The newbie should know his place too," Lorant sneers, electricity sparking at his fingertips. "Master, shall I show him where it is?"

"If you think it's the right thing to do…"

At that moment, Annial's body became heavy. It was a struggle for him to stand and he could hardly conceal the fact that he had to put effort into remaining upright.

"How dare you?" Annial growls, his eyes glow like dark red coals. Even with his helmet on, the others could plainly see the snarl he has on his lips.

"Want me to show you?" Lorant grins wickedly and hefts his bow up, itching to fight. "Master, I will not be needing your assistance to put this beast down."

In less than a second, Annial shoots a blast of flame from his fist and it rockets straight for Lorant. With little more than a shrug, the fire is deflected by a sudden gust of wind acting as a shield for the archer.

"Not bad but there's no way you could have taken Excalibur on with this. Go ahead and turn the heat up. Are you insulting me?" Lorant laughs, lifting his bow and pulling the bowstring back. A black arrow materializes in his hand and crackles with energy, ready to pierce through the little upstart.

"I will destroy you!" Annial leaps on to the table and lunges for Lorant in a ball of flame just as he releases his arrow.

In the blink of an eye, Annial's back hits the wall and he slumps down on the ground. Lorant stares dumbfounded at the huge warrior and at the arrow that Lang had caught.

"No need for that." Lang shakes his head.

Right as Annial was going to get hit with Lorant's arrow, Lang intervened. He had jumped on the table to get between the two and thrust Annial back into the wall, extinguishing his black flames and catching Lorant's arrow at the same time.

"It isn't good manners to start a fight with someone who has invited us into his new home. If you wish to put your point across, I will fight in your stead," Lang twirls the arrow in his fingers and it elongates into a silver halberd. "Perhaps I can quell Annial's rage as well as show him what you mean, Lorant. It will also prevent needless death and injury. Does that sit well with you, Annial? It wouldn't do well for you to be defeated after such a momentous victory."

"So you will face me instead?" Annial stands, drawing his sword. "Fine. I will make you a smear on my boot and show your master who to bow to."

"Knock yourself out," Whisper snickers at the back of everyone's mind. "Will you need my assistance?" Whisper's voice caresses Lang's ear.

"I will not but I do hope you will enjoy the show," Lang turns to Lorant then and bows his head slightly. "As I will be fighting for you, may I have a favor?"

"No and I don't appreciate you stealing my thunder by the way," Lorant puts his hands on his hips. "But go ahead. I'd get carried away and kill him anyway. But like I said, I ain't giving you any favors."

"Not that kind of favor." Lang kneels on one knee to get on the same level as Lorant. He reaches towards Lorant's ear and removes an iron earring from him gently, careful not to cause any discomfort.

Lorant, who had been watching Lang as if in a trance, catches himself and backs away abruptly.

"Hey, are you pulling this shit again?"

"I will return it to you when I win, Lorant. Have no worries."

"What are you even talking about?" Lorant huffs but allows Lang to take his earring.

"Hon hon hon oh uh," Josephine coughs harshly, embarrassed. "Ho ho ho," she laughs knowingly.

"Crkcrkcrkcrkcrk?" Abyss rubs its hands together excitedly.

"Yes, definitely." Josephine nods.

"Now, let us begin." Lang bows calmly. It angers Annial more than Whisper's goading and Lang taking Lorant's favor.

"At least take this outside, please? Anal, you're filling the room with smoke." Josephine wafts the smoke away from her face out of old habit.

"It. Is. ANNIAL!" Annial slams both of his fists on the table, cracking it down the middle and setting it aflame. Roaring, he lifts the two halves of the table and throws them along with Lang at the window, shattering the glass.

Lang lets himself plummet through the air as Annial jumps out after him, leaving the others to lounge in their seats to watch.

"You will make a fine example for the others," Annial catches up to Lang, ready to run him through with his sword. Lang rolls to the side to dodge him and dives towards a nearby roof. "Running away, are you?" Annial taunts over the wind.

Lang rolls on to his back as he falls, reaching his arm out as his helmet materializes on his head from the shadows. It was an invitation.

"Fine by me!" Annial speeds up and rams his sword through Lang's chest as they crash into the roof of the main hall's roof.

A small crater in the roof forms from their crash and when the dust settles, Annial finds that there was no one pinned to the roof under his sword.

"You're strong," Lang comments, appearing beside Annial. He rubs his chest, inspecting his light armor for any scratches. Of course there wasn't any. "You lack attention, however, and your form is quite sloppy."

"How did you-" Mid-exclamation, Lang strikes at Annial and he just barely blocks Lang's halberd with the hilt of his sword.

"Reflexes are sub-par," Lang tsks, shaking his head sadly. "I almost cut your hand off."

"I will not be looked down upon by a mere servant!" Annial slashes back, hitting the middle of the staff as Lang blocks the attack.

Lang twirls the halberd, jumping back high off the roof as he deflects every one of Annial's strikes.

"The angrier you get, the sloppier you become it seems. Patience is not a strong point for you either." Lang spins the halberd in his fingers behind him mid-air before stabbing the pointed spear of the halberd through Annial's armor and into his thigh, pushing him back.

To Annial's surprise, the spear sent jolts of pain through his entire body. When he tries to grab the halberd and throw it away, it burns him through his armor. He knocks Lang away with his sword instead and when he lands back on the ground, he quickly puts space between Lang and himself to inspect his hand.

The armor didn't even have a scratch but he still feels his hand throbbing in pain.

"What did you do?"

"Had enough already? We could slow down if you like." Lang asks, approaching Annial with his halberd resting on his shoulder. His voice sounds genuinely concerned and that irritates Annial to no end.

Roaring, he charges at Lang as he escapes to another rooftop. Lang glances back to check if Annial was following just in time for him to dig the tip of his halberd into the nearby roof, swing himself behind Annial as he was about to take Lang from behind and kicks Annial across the roof, smashing the tiles.

Annial pushes himself up and charges Lang again. He slashes and slashes at Lang but each time Lang deflects and parries Annial up until he strikes the staff. It allows Lang to slide around Annial's sword, disarm him and a quick stab to Annial's knee sends him tumbling down the roof and falling into the cobblestone pathway below.

He was ready to jump back up but was met with point of Lang's halberd instead.

"A twist of my wrist and that would be the end," Lang frowns, perplexed. "I don't understand why this is happening. Perhaps your magic is more potent than your physical skill."

"Ha," Annial stares up at Lang. Lang stood over him, blocking the moon from Annial's view and casting his shadow on him. The pity in Lang's eyes was evident and that made Annial burst into flames. Lang doesn't flinch when a flaming fist closes around his ankle. "Prepare yourself then."

Lang regards him with curiosity before he lets his halberd dissipate back into wisps of shadow.

"By all means then, show me."

"You arrogant-" Annial pulls Lang down and flings him across the palace grounds, whisking him past the weeping willows and into a stone wall. A trail of fire and ash was left in his wake.

"Ouch, that wasn't bad," Lang sits up, brushing the pebbles from his shoulders as the wall collapses around him. "Show me another trick." He stands, making a beckoning motion to the heavily armored man standing in a black column of fire.

Without hesitation, Annial gathers his flames and swirls them around himself in a hellish storm. Laughing, he lets loose a concentrated blast of fire at the boy. Nothing had ever survived his flames and when his fire hits Lang dead on, Annial knew that this foolish boy would not be an exception.

The laughter dies in his throat when the flames begin to dance around Lang. They flicker around Lang and assemble into a small glowing ball in his open palm. When the last of the flames joins the sphere, Lang turns his head up to look at Annial.

"How in the world did you defeat Excalibur?" Lang shakes his head pushes the ball into his chest. For a moment, he glowed dark purple and Annial shudders involuntarily. "Even though I quite dislike Excalibur, your strength should have been nothing to him. I am confused. Perhaps you are feeling sick?"

"Enough of this!" Annial hits him again with another blast. It connects with Lang once more and pushes him through the wall out of Annial's line of sight.

"You call this nothing, worm?" Annial sneers, making his way towards the hole in the wall on the black trail of soot he created.

He stumbles on the way over a stray vine. Annial looks down to his feet to see green tendrils wrap around his boots. Small daisies pop open and remain unblemished by the nearby roaring fire.

"What sort of sorcery are you-" Annial stops, squinting his eyes to check if he was seeing correctly.

A woman with cascading pale green hair peeks out from behind the crumbling wall and smiles peacefully as if she was regarding an old friend. The woman glows as she walks out from the wall. With every step, the burnt flora under her white and gold gown grows back and from the blooming flowers, glowing orbs of light rise.

A sickly sweet scent permeates the air. Something about it made Annial dizzy.

Caught off guard, Annial doesn't notice the vines climbing his leg, rooting him to the spot. When they squeeze and crush the bones in his legs, he bellows and erupts into an intense inferno of dark flames.

When the fire settles, the vines around his legs remain unmarked. Grapes begin to grow on the vines as if to mock Annial's efforts to escape.

The woman who had replaced Lang giggles, amused at his feeble attempts. The woman's eyes narrow and her smile grows wider. The orbs of light become intensely bright; bright enough to make Annial feel sick.

The ground where they stand erupts into columns of thick vines and Annial is shot upwards.

Using a great amount of his strength, Annial chops at the vines imprisoning him until they give way. He tries to ignite his flames again but finds that something was inhibiting them from forming and making his throat constrict.

Failing at that, Annial gathers darkness around him as cover from the mysterious orbs of light and to heal his legs. It wouldn't take long to recover.

He just had to find that strange woman and cut her down to destroy the plants.

They came from nowhere and had ravaged the ground. From his high viewpoint, the vines had overtaken most of the palace. That strange scent was still tickling his senses as well. Whatever it was, it makes him uneasy and keeps him from focusing.

Out of nowhere, a kick sends his head reeling back and his whole world lights up.

Annial doesn't realize that he was falling until he smashes into a ground.

The brightness stinging his eyes fades, allowing him to see the entire world alight with white heat. The entire city had been leveled.

A young man wearing robes decorated with holly leaves stands nearby. His red eyes were glazed over with boredom and he regards Annial with as much interest as one would regard a lost ant.

Anger reawakened, Annial pulls himself up and counters the white fire with his darkness. Annial makes his shadow spread to blot out the light and strengthen himself but the man with the holly leaves rushes him.

Though the man was just barely half Annial's size, he manages to kick Annial back down on the ground and extinguish the shadows surrounding them. Two silver blades drop out of the man's sleeves. They were attached to chains that lead up the young man's arms. Before he could do anything with them, Annial throws him off high up in the air.

Annial acts quickly when he realizes the haze in his mind cleared and that he could use his fire powers again. He creates a shield of black fire around himself, blocking out the light.

Far above him, the man bearing the holly covered robes tugs at the chain attached to the back of his metal collar.

His eyes widen and chains fly out of his robes. They pierce through Annial's shield and into the ground, near impaling him. One breaks through and punctures through his forearm before swinging around and wrapping his arm tight.

Annial grunts in pain and frustration, summons his sword from the dark and attempts to cut through the chains. They remain undented and glow bright and hot. Annial grabs the chains instead, ignoring how much they were burning him and he yanks at them, hoping to bring his assailant down.

An explosion goes off as he does and it sweeps Annial away. The intense heat scorches him through his armor as he is blown away and the white light blinds him. Over the sound of the explosion, the sound of deranged laughter reaches his ears.

The sound rouses Annial and he rights himself before he hits the ground. He lands on his feet and skids back to a full stop. He stabs his sword into the ground to steady himself and glances around to search for the man wearing the holly leaves.

Instead, he came face to face with Excalibur.

Standing not even five feet away was the deceased leader of the Forces of Light in all his exalted glory. He stands tall and noble as Annial was hunched over from exhaustion.

"This…is not possible," Annial pants. "Heh, no matter. I will just slay you again!"

Annial raises his sword and he and Excalibur clash; caught once again in a deadlock.

Like the last battle, their strength was equal. It would boil down to who was more skilled.

Annial moves to disarm Excalibur and lop his head off as he did to assure his last victory. He pulls back, aims and stabs with precision at Excalibur's shoulder.

And Excalibur deflects it as if it was nothing.

Baffled, Annial tries again and doesn't let up. He smashes Excalibur with hard slash after slash and Excalibur dodges each.

Annial swings too wide and Excalibur takes the opening to slash down through Annial's shoulder. Excalibur's sword tears through Annial's armor, muscle and bone. A burning sensation courses through his entire body and makes a bloodcurdling shout

Less than a minute after their duel had started, Annial lay defeated and unable to move. Pain shoots through him from his glowing wound and Excalibur closes in to finish him.

Above Annial's eyes was the point of Excalibur's sword, ready to stab through his face. Unable to comprehend his sudden loss, Annial squirms and kicks his legs weakly. The glowing wound was sapping his strength and no amount of struggling would stop the falling blade.

The sword pierces through his skin and promptly disappears.

Excalibur, overcome by some sort of affliction of the heart, clutches at his chest and staggers back. He collapses and dissipates into thin air.

The wound Excalibur inflicted on Annial closes and he slowly gathers himself and stands, staring at the spot where Excalibur used to be in silence.

"Hmph, perhaps coming too close to me caused him to be extinguished. I may be stronger than I once thought." Annial muses before noticing that his shadow was spreading wider and wider across the blank landscape.

Mesmerized, Annial watches as his shadow envelops the land and leaks into the sky. The shadows blot out every patch of color until all that was left was a great expanse of blackness. There was nothing but himself; just darkness.

It was the Perfect Darkness.

He had returned to the Eternal Endless Darkness.

"Is this not a delusion?" Annial questions himself. This was some strange hallucination Lang and his Master had created. It could not have been anything else. "But this feels real."

How familiar it feels to Annial; this fabricated world of Darkness. Though he was almost sure that it wasn't the True Darkness, he allows himself to sink into the blackness and melds himself into the expanse. For a moment, he loses himself.

*Clip*

"What?" Annial becomes aware of something other than himself nearing.

*Clip*

A terrible sensation invades him. The world begins to quake.

*Clip*

A crack breaks through the blackness, shattering the perfection of the world. Sheer panic overtakes Annial's mind as he tries to comprehend what was leaking into the darkness, swallowing it and wiping it from reality.

*Clip*

Light was not invading his dream. Nor was it anything that had ever existed in this world. Perhaps it could have been said that it had existed before the world was born.

What Annial saw was nothing. It was true and absolute Nothing.

No Light or Darkness existed in that crack. No air existed in that space. No matter existed in that space. Space did not exist.

It was just incomprehensible nothing.

Annial could not begin to understand what he was witnessing. Was it even possible for him to be witnessing it at all?

It began to break Annial's mind.

He turns away to avoid going completely insane but that would not keep him safe.

The crack in the Darkness enlarges, spreading wider and allowing more of the world to be completely and utterly destroyed.

Annial could not move. There was no escape from the slow destruction. He feels it creeping closer and closer, devouring the existence of the world. His own thoughts were disintegrating, leaving only fear and despair and even that disappears.

Numbness is all that is left and soon it all fades into the void.

*Clip*

Annial wakes up. His screams echo through the room and causes the others to wince and cover their ears.

"Calm the fuck down!" Lorant grimaces, peeking over the unscratched table. "Stop! You're fine! Lang, do something! This is your fault." Lorant shouts over Annial's unending screams.

"Just let him let it all out. It's unhealthy to keep your feelings to yourself," Lang smooths out his plants leaves. "The screaming helps my Nightshade grow strong as well."

"He's going to break the glass with his screaming," Josephine covers the sides of her head with her hands even though she didn't need to. "Master Abyss? How in the world can you sleep through all of this?" Josephine prods the sleeping monster slumped over the table. "Did you get bored?"

"No wonder you call yourself Analate," Whisper snickers. "Your screams tell the entire story."

"Inappropriate!" Dennis chides.

"You know what? Screw your fucking flowers," Lorant fires an arrow at Annial's forehead. It hits dead center and the screaming ceases. "Better yet?"

Annial's breathing slows. He clasps his hands on the table, gathering the pieces of his broken mind together. Annial reaches up and pulls the arrow out of his head, bringing it down in front of his eyes to inspect as he crushes it in his hands.

"Lorant asked you if you felt better. Are you?" Lang rests his head on the table languidly.

Large hands reach out and wretch Lang from his seat, pulling him a breath away from Annial's furious coal eyes.

"What did you do to me?" Annial shakes him and squeezes Lang's shoulders, creasing the metal of his armor. "What sort of lies did you show me?"

"Lies?" Lang raises a brow. "You thought those were lies? I was showing you a simulation of our memories to explain Lorant's thinking to you. Was that not a suitable method of teaching?"

"Of course it was," Whisper assures Lang. "Anal is just a bit too dense to understand. Anal should also understand that if he touches what is mine, he will suffer greatly."

Annial's mind gets assaulted by a terrible ache as Whisper growls those words. It weakens him enough to release Lang and makes him fall to his knees.

"You understand how strange this is now, don't you?" Josephine walks up behind Lang to stare down at Annial. "The Beings of the Light are mighty. What you saw was only a portion of their power. You really toned them down, didn't you Lang?"

"I did," Lang sighs, brushing himself off. "Master Annial lasted five minutes with Persephine, seven with Holly and less than one with Excalibur. When the fabricated Darkness came, he gave in immediately."

"What a pushover," Lang scoffs, walking around the table to sneer at Annial. "Excalibur may be a brute but his strength is unquestionable. I refuse to believe that someone like you could last longer than a second with him let alone all three of those fuckers."

"And even if we did destroy all the Beings of Light, you saw what happened after," Dennis murmurs, his sorrow mixing in with his dread. "You weren't the first to try to gather our powers and fight against the Light. And should you succeed in your goal, know that you were not the first in that either. What happened after the near victory was…illuminating to say the least. Pardon the pun."

The memory of that event casts a foul mood across the Beings and their vassals. Though their vassals were not around to witness the first collapse of the world, their shared consciousness with their Masters allowed them to see the horror that awaited when the world's balance becomes overthrown.

"Thinking about _that _would drive even me crazy." Whisper's voice falters.

"The Perfect Darkness…it is impossible?" Annial pants, clutching his helmet as he lay on the ground.

"Once the Elemental Planes have converged, nothing must upset their balance lest we turn not to the once Endless Abyss, but to nothing. The Darkness had lasted for a little while but if it had went on, we would have been turned into true Nothing." Dennis' voice fades into silence.

They stand over the fallen Master, pitying his late birth. Lorant turns his back on the others and heads for the door.

"Your cause is lost. The Light is too strong to fight alone and even if you win, you're still pretty much fucked. Here's some advice. Stay away from me and just go on surviving as long as you can until they hunt you down for what you did to Excalibur. I won't be around to see it." Lorant opens the heavy doors to the empty hall, ready to leave.

"Master? Shall I rouse Master Abyss and take leave as well?" Lang bows his head.

"Nothing more to see." Josephine gently pats Abyss' back to wake the sleeping master.

"Let us leave this place. The Darkness will not last long," Whisper huffs. "Lorant, mind holding the door open for us?"

"Go suck on Excalibur's neck stump." Lorant swears, halfway out the door.

"Stop!" Annial rises to his feet and the doors slam shut. Lorant jumps back into the room just before he gets crushed between the stone doors.

"What the fuck is your problem? We told you, there's no helping-" Annial tosses a round object into Lorant's arms. "What the shit is this supposed to be-er oh fuck!" Lorant flings the severed head of Excalibur's vassal across the room. It bounces off of Abyss' groggy head and Josephine catches it in the curve of her boot, juggling it with her feet as her Master laughs.

"You are not happy with my gift?" Annial asks.

"No man! What the fuck?" Lorant gasps, wiping some sort of sticky moisture off of his hands. "That's disgusting!"

"Haha, where were you keeping it Anal?" Whisper snorts. "Not where I'm thinking I hope."

"I have been informed by the others below that you and Master…Dennis have once dueled with Excalibur and it had ended in a draw. The farthest any Being had come defeating him before myself of course," Annial walks past Josephine, snatches the head away and offers it to Lorant once more. "If it is true that Excalibur was once as strong as you have said, this should belong to you. I merely finished him off for you."

"Are you serious? That fucking thing is dripping all over the floor!" Lorant shrinks away from the head. "What's with the sudden change in character? You want something from me?"

Noticing his discomfort, Annial uses his flames to cauterize the bleeding neck and once again, pushes the head towards Lorant.

"Is this what it means by returning a favor? The other vassal returned your ear decoration, did he not?"

"Yes but that isn't how it works! Lang didn't even do that right. I ain't your lady!"

"Awfully defensive." Josephine snickers and Lang speaks softly into her ear. Both smile then and Abyss jingles gleefully.

"Hey, fuck you," Lorant growls, finally snatching the head from Annial and holds it under his arm. "Happy now, I took the fucking head."

"Excellent, you have accepted my offer to work with me."

"What? What? What the shit are you talking about?" Lorant demands.

"Good work, you and I have eliminated the first of our enemies. Our coordination is matched by none! Soon, many more will fall to our might."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Lorant glances at the others before he realizes what he had just accepted. "No way. I ain't helping you. Taking the head means nothing. I told you already. Keep my Master and I out of your disaster."

"Hmmmhmmm, smart Anal. Didn't think you were that clever at all." Whisper laughs.

"Impressive wordplay, I do admit." Lang steps forward.

"I thank you as well, young vassal," Annial makes a sweeping motion towards Lang. "Had you not informed me of the consequences of my plan, our destruction would have been assured. You and your affiliates will make a fine second in command."

"You're pulling us into this as well?" Lang pulls the Nightshade on the table towards himself and pats the dirt down.

"He requires two hands to handle his work," Josephine wags a finger at Annial. "Greedy. Absolutely greedy."

"As my right and left hand, I promise you, Master Whisper," Annial bows slightly, barely hiding his hurt pride. "Though my dream of Eternal Darkness is impossible, I will now strive to show the wage war on the Light and bring the powers of Darkness back to its former glory. As you have seen, Excalibur has been slain by the joint efforts of my underling and I."

"Shut the fuck up, I ain't your underling you pushy conniving freeloading-"

"Gaze upon the exquisite Darkness it has brought us!" Annial presents the blackened city of Beacon. "The calamity is nowhere to be seen! We need not completely destroy them. We need only to eliminate their leaders and keep them in check for our goal to be met."

"I promise you, Master Whisper, that the balance between the Light and Dark will be shifted back to our favor and that you will find endless amusement in our work."

"Done. The deal is sealed." Whisper agrees immediately, as if Whisper had been waiting for the correct offer.

"Really?" Annial and Lorant exclaim at the same time.

"O-of course," Annial coughs, choking back a tired wheeze. "I expect absolute respect from your vassals."

"As you wish, Master Annial." Josephine and Lang speak and bow in unison. "That is, if you can keep it." Lang warns with a grin, making Annial stagger back.

"What, are you crazy?" Lorant stamps his foot in frustration. "You're planning something again, aren't you? I'm warning you, whatever you're planning I'll put an end to it."

"And where would there be a better place to watch these cretins than at my side," Annial moves to stand next to Lorant. He dearly wanted to strangle the troublesome boy but he had to keep going. "You will be able to keep these evil villains in check as well as bring justice to the Beings of Light that have antagonized you for oh so very long."

"…He has a point, Lorant." Dennis says nervously, feeling Lorant's temper rise.

"And Abyss, what is it that you desire?" Annial reaches a hand out to the crouched monster.

"Arebacongestatata."

"Ah yes…I have absolutely no idea what you are saying. What is Master Abyss saying?"

"Beats me," Everyone could hear the shrug in Whisper's voice. "No one understands anything Abyss says."

"You imbeciles I-…"Annial covers his near breakdown with another cough. "Whatever Master Abyss wishes, it shall be done as long as we strive for the same goal."

Abyss remains unmoving and Annial starts to shake on his feet. He tenses his muscles, ready to throttle the Being if it refused. Annial was done with groveling for the next fifty lifetimes.

Finally, Abyss nods and its head promptly hits the table as it nods off again.

"Then we are settled?" Annial asks.

"Shit, we are, aren't we? Fuck, we are! Shit!" Lorant punches the door angrily.

"Lorant, please!" Dennis tries to calm his vassal.

"We have agreed for the most part," Josephine crosses her arms. "No need to pretend anymore. You can sit down if you like. You must be exhausted after all of that bullshitting."

Annial falls into one of the chairs, exhausted and mortified by his desperation. Though it was a shaky alliance with his leadership only half assured and his grand scheme almost ruined, he would have to make do with what he had. Annial had only existed for a short time after all. After experiencing what Lang had put him through, the insolent brat, he accepts that he would have to adapt to survive.

"Master Annial, if I may suggest our first course of action?" Lang kneels in front on Annial. Annial finds that he quite likes Lang when he was submissive and on his knees. The strange feral look in Lang's eyes still disturbed Annial though. He tries not to look too hard at them.

"What?" Annial frowns at Lang as Lorant keeps kicking and swearing at the wall.

"We must sink this city into the depths of the sea."

**Longer chapter and a great difference from the previous. I guess I'll talk about just a few things.**

**A lot of exposition happened and I hope it was understandable.**

**The Planes of Light and Darkness aren't the only Planes in this universe that had a hand in creating this world. It's just that stuff happened with them and it'll be the main focus of next chapter.**

**Annial is a very young Being but he's smart enough to trick and beg his way into gaining the other's favor.**

**Remember when I said that I was going to put this story in my shared Deviantart account. I changed my mind. The Misc section would probably be the best place for this. As I have said before, I'll move it next chapter.**

**That's it really. I don't want to give anything away in the chapter notes so I hope you'll stick around for the next installment of this prequel. Thank you very much for reading.**


	5. Chapter 4: I See No Monsters

**And here we have returned! I've been so busy lately, I haven't been able to get anything done at all. Well, anything fun. And this is finally in the Misc section because I also procrastinate with the things that I like to do, (orz). Ah, and I've been hitting walls lately. Plus all the other distractions (Twenty billion cookies per second on cookie clicker).**

**It's spoopy month too. I want to eat candy but there is none in this house. I think the munchies are just getting to me. But enough of that, we should probably figure out what the crew are up to. There isn't much action in comparison to the last chapter but there's a lot to learn about the Beings of Light. **

**This story got a cover now. It's not the one that people voted for in the vote that I held on my profile but Electronelle sketched up a Nightshade flower and it worked with the story.**

**Let's get to the reviewer replies before we start.**

**Kaiban: I won't say where you are right but you are on the right track. Annial's practically a baby compared to the others and the 'physics' of this world are a little bit different from Lore's. There are many plans. Plans within plans. And already there is a connection. By now, it's probably obvious that Josephine is Ty's mom so everyone will just have to see how that works out. Boy, won't that be fun (hopefully).**

**AlkaFledspar: Curious! I wonder what your theories are. Hmmm, there were too many easy mistakes last chapter too. I gotta step it up but fic writing is tiring. Thank you once again for finding them. You're a true blue life saver and probably my favourite flavor life saver too. The plot wheels keeps turning and-**

**Get ready for some exposition. There's a bunch of talking here since the action happened last chapter. It's a bit more interesting though and more background too. Hopefully there's more showing than telling.**

**I See No Monsters**

"Josephine," Whisper chimes. "That would be your cue. Let us go and prepare for our decent."

"Yes, Master. It shall be done." Josephine bows, hand over where her heart should have been and she fades into the moonlight.

"And you, Master Annial, we have much to talk about before you address your people." Lang remains kneeling, keeping his eyes on the floor beneath Annials boots.

"Do you not mean my slaves?" Annial asked, amused at the turn of events and at Lorant who was beating dents into the door with the head he accepted.

"Can you be any more of an asshole, Anal?" Lorant spits. "What am I saying? With your name, you'll go above and beyond."

"I will smite you!" Annial rises from his chair, fire balls burning at his fists. With a snap of Lorant's fingers, a shock courses through Annial's fingers and knees, forcing him back into his seat. "Do that again and I will-" Lorant snaps his fingers and Annial's throat constricts, cutting his words off.

"Lorant, if you are so keen in correcting Master Annial's motions, perhaps it should be you who should tell Annial of our enemy." Lang smiled serenely but his eyes glinted with pleasure and he too fades away into the moonlight. "Then he would better understand the predicament we are in and better prepare himself."

"What? Are you fucking kidding?" Lorant exclaims, but Lang didn't hear him and Abyss had fallen asleep at the table again.

Annial and Lorant stare at each other with enough intensity to make the tower explode.

"Lorant, please?" Dennis used his most soothing voice to calm his Vassal. "It would do much more for the people down there if you advised him well."

"I don't have a choice do I?" Lorant's tired tone angered Annial. Dennis intervenes before he could start another fight.

"And Annial, it would do well for you to listen once more. Whatever you heard about the Light back in the Plane of Darkness has changed since."

"Let's get this over with," Lorant opened the doors to the hall in a sloppy and uncaring manner. He walks past the bowing guards, not bothering to acknowledge them or Annial.

Annial was tempted to strike Lorant from behind in front of the others but decides that perhaps he should listen for the information. He will punish the brat later.

"What Lang just showed you were just simulations of the three heads," Lorant explained as he walks down the shadowed halls past more guards and new servants that had signed up for jobs. Their new Masters chatter excitedly with them.

"How did he create such illusions?" Annial questions, annoyed at how Lorant was walking in front of him rather than the other way around.

"You're a Being of Darkness and you have no idea?" Lorant asks, incredulous.

"Uh, what Lorant means to say is that Light and Darkness have a natural ability to create illusions," Dennis quickly cuts in. "Light refraction can be quite effective and the shadows prove to be as malleable as clay. To demonstrate-"

Persephine walks up next to Annial, hiding her mouth and nose with her lacy fan. It surprises Annial enough to draw his sword and several servants run screaming as one guard sinks to the ground and cries. Others continue on as if nothing happened.

"Just an illusion. There is no danger." Lorant announced, not even hiding his jeering laughter.

"Very convincing to those unaccustomed. It can do terrible things to the mind," Dennis went on. "Though Lang's are quite life-like. He has a special talent for illusions much like how Persephine has an affinity towards not only Light but to plants."

The illusion of Persephine sprouts blooming lilies in her green hair, giggling behind her fan as she skipped ahead and danced down the hall.

"Persephine is a Light Being who chose a Vassal with an affinity towards the manipulation of plants. Lorant, what do you call that?"

"There are a bunch of names. Chlorokinesis, Bontanokinesis, Agrokinesis and so on," Lorant replies, swinging the head of Excalibur's head back and forth as they walked.

"I see. Getting back on track, as Lang had showed you, Persephine can grow plants at will," Dennis explains. "She's the flashy type when it comes to attacking."

"Her name sucks," Lorant shook his head. "It's Persephone with an 'i' instead of an 'o.' It's like she didn't even try to be original."

"She augments her plants with her Light magic. Touching the plants would disintegrate a weaker being and its vassal. And if that doesn't work, she'll crush you into mulch for her trees."

The illusion of Persephine left petals and pollen in her wake. When they came too close to Annial and Lorant, they disappeared.

"This woman did something else as well," Annial eyed the illusion with curiosity. "When I was fighting her, there was a strange smell that affected my mind. It made me hazy."

"Pheromones; her plants release pheromones that can do anything between making you brain dead and her slave to making you just plain dead," Lorant said, rubbing his nose. "Pheremones only affects the living though so hypothetically anyone who knows necromancy should have a chance but…Remember Castle Labraza and Master Void?"

"Void was a Being of Darkness who excelled in necromancy. We knew him a little. I'm sure you heard his name?" Dennis asks Annial.

"Master Void is a name whispered among the Beings stuck in the Plane. He went through many Vassals and slayed many Beings of Light, devouring their Vassals afterwards. He was able to summon an army of undead creatures at will. He was defeated by Persephine in the end. Weakling."

"Are you really going to say that after being slapped around by a mere illusion of her?" Lorant narrows his eyes, annoyed.

"What you have to understand is that though the battle lasted a few weeks, Void had other Beings with him, some of them had been present during the first Darkness takeover, and countless undead. Persephine defeated him by herself. In fact, her pheromones worked on the undead somehow and she defeated him with his own creations." Dennis' voice shook.

"She respected his power," Lorant continues where Dennis left off. "It took very long for that battle to end and when she destroyed Void, she kept his Vassal's body and crucified it in her private garden above a bed of poppies."

The illusion laughs, making a slicing motion with her fan when Lorant mentions Master Void. Disturbed, Lorant waves his hand and the illusion disappears.

"Those pheromones are potent and she doesn't just use them on her enemies."

"She would use them on her own subjects?" Annial raised a brow.

"It's a good way of keeping the masses under control. Keeps them 'happy' in a sense." Dennis says.

"Basically, everyone who lives in a place dominated by the Light is too high to question what they do. She used to be the master of crowd control for Excalibur. She was a second in command and an advisor," Lorant said, nodding to a passing new servant who waved at the two. "There's something else about her too. Did you notice anything about her while you were fighting?"

"What else was there?" Annial tries to remember but nothing came to mind.

"Her vassal's face," Lorant creates an illusion of Persephine's head. She floats around the two, her eyes regard them as she would and old friend. "Keep looking at it."

At first, Annial saw nothing strange about it but after a moment of further examination, he found that there was something off about her. Was it her eyes? Were they not level with each other? Was it her smile? Was it because it looked fake?

"I can't put my finger on it but…" Lorant frowns, staring at the beautiful yet disturbing figure. "I'll admit she's pretty but she's almost too perfect. She looks normal but just barely. There's no info on her Vassal. Not even a name."

"Yes, there is something not quite right with it," Annial agrees and both lean in closer to the head. "Is it the eyes?"

"Her mouth might be crooked." Lorant suggests.

"Maybe. Perhaps it's the nose. It might be slightly lower than normal."

"Yeah, that nose is pretty fucking weird too."

"Good, the two of you are getting along." Dennis comments and immediately, Annial slaps the illusion of the head away and the two turn from each other, scowling.

"Ehem, after Persephine, Lang had you face Holly," Dennis says and the white cloaked young man appears before them. The necklace of silver holly leaves jingle as he walks confidently forward. "Like you, Annial, his Vassal has an affinity towards fire but he uses Light magic to intensify his flames."

"His flames were impressive but they could hardly compare-"

"Doesn't bullshitting tire you out?" Lorant throws his arms up in the air, shaking the head wildly.

"Well, Holly's flames are unique in that the more he uses his powers, the stronger they get," Dennis quickly says, avoiding another conflict. "As far as we know, or course. You didn't see probably because…" Dennis didn't want to mention that Annial didn't last long enough to see the extent of Holly's strength.

"And what of the chains?"

"Holly excels at close combat," Lorant takes over. "He wears chains underneath his robes that he uses to attack and defend. No one's ever seen him without that cloak. No one that's still around of course."

"Conduct, the Being of Energy and his Vassal, Hanita, with an affinity for air. The strongest and fastest of the Plane of Energy." Dennis says sorrowfully and senses his Vassal's anxiety at the name. "She was a strong magical and physical fighter. A force field of electricity surrounded her when she fights; it had a radius of ten kilometers. By herself, she could have leveled entire continents with her magic."

"She was a defender of justice. She wouldn't do that." Lorant crosses his arms and glares at the back of Holly's illusion with contempt before turning his gaze towards the ground.

"They went one on one and she never missed him once. Despite how much she mangled Holly with her force field, battered him with her electrified punches, ripped him apart with her magic spells, Holly would not fall." Dennis said.

"He didn't even directly attack her."

"Then how could he be able to defeat such a Being?" Annial asks, picturing the explosive fight between fire and electricity.

"Holly set the battlefield on fire," Lorant answers, tightening his hold on the head. "Conduct and Hanita would throw him all around the field but no matter where they went, Holly surrounded them with flames and kept others from interfereing," Lorant balls his hand into a fist. "Hanita was a human and even though her lungs were stronger than most, she succumbed to smoke inhalation after a day."

Hanita's woundless body lay motionless on her back surrounded by pure white flames. Her eyes were directed upwards, blank as the white clouds that covered every inch of the heavens. The picture wouldn't leave Lorant nor Dennis' mind.

_We watched him carry her away._

At that moment, the illusion of Holly began to hum a tune from Hanita's home land. Lorant and Annial gulp involuntarily. Lorant waves his hand and Holly dissipates into the shadows.

"Like Persephine, Holly respected Conduct and Hanita's prowess and after he ripped Conduct away from his Vassal and absorbed him, he entombed Hanita's body in his castle with the others."

"Where?"

"If the stories are true, the tallest tower in his castle has an open roof. He keeps his defeated adversaries there in glass coffins bathed in perpetual light. He often gets flowers from Persephine to lay on the coffins." Lorant shivers and Annial could only sputter at such a ridiculous and strange rumor. "I only heard the rumors though."

"Masters, if I might," A servant approaches them and bows deeply, having overheard their conversation. "The rumors you hear are very true. I was once forced to work in his castle before being moved to Excalibur's."

"You served the light?" Annial was about to draw his sword and strike the spy down but Lorant snaps his fingers and forces Annial to stand still.

"Yes. While I was in Holly's castle, I was part of the group that kept the mausoleum clean. The mausoleum is the grandest and most decorated part of his castle. The bodies appear to be preserved well and lack scars or wounds. Sometimes…" The servant swallows to clear his throat, looking over his back like he was afraid that the Light Beings could hear him. "Sometimes when Holly visits the mausoleum, he sleeps there. Climbs into their coffins even. On some days, he plays the flute for them."

"Woah," Lorant was taken aback. "Just when that freak couldn't get any weirder. Thanks for the info Mr…"

"My name is Weiss, Masters." Weiss bows even deeper than before.

"How do we know he is not a spy for the Light?" Annial demands, ready to cleave the sneak in half.

"I'll vouch for him," Another voice speaks up. "He's my new Vassal. He's telling the truth. I can sense it."

"Who would you be?"

"I am Zhayu. We made our contract recently and I can without a doubt that my vassal speaks the truth and holds no ill will."

"If I did, I'd probably be dead like those poor souls in the cellar." Weiss shakes his head sadly.

"Appreciate the info, Weiss, Zhayu," Lorant pats Weiss' shoulder. "Did I pronounce that right?"

"Yes!" The two reply in unison, awe unhidden.

"If we need any more info, I can come to you guys?"

"Of course, Masters. I may not be able to answer all of them. I was just a mere servant there after all." Weiss trips over his words from the excitement of getting to speak with the two Masters. It had taken much prodding from Zhayu to get him to go to them.

"That ain't a problem," Lorant shook his head. "Excuse us, we shouldn't be disturbing your work."

"Ah, yes! Thank you, Masters." Weiss bows again before rushing off, heart fluttering in his chest and his Master laughs, sensing his Vassal's joy.

"Holly. What does he think he's doing?" Lorant scratches his head.

"Why did this Holly attack a Being of the Plane of Energy?" Annial huffs, still annoyed at how much respect Lorant gave to a mere servant and a defector of the Light at that.

"If the Plane of Darkness has the potential to wipe out the entire world and the other Planes with it, who's to say the Planes of Fire, Energy, Air and so on can't?" Dennis says as they continue down the hall. "This place is way too big. How is anyone supposed to get to the bathroom in this place?"

"The Beings of Light decided to take control of the other Planes by force to prevent the end of the world. Their tactics are…"

"To get Conduct and Hanita to fight him one on one, Holly held hostages and threatened to set them aflame if they didn't comply or try to save them. The hostages were his own people." Lorant grits his teeth.

"And that was how the last of the Beings of the Plane of Energy, after centuries of struggle, fell to the Plane of Light." Dennis says, mournful. "Their Plane still exists but it is now property of the Light.

"And they will attempt to do the same to the Plane of Darkness?" Annial scoffed at how easy it was for Holly to kill Conduct and his Vassal. He didn't even need to waste effort abducting Conduct's allies. "Defeat us, absorb us and worship the corpses of our Vassals?"

"Oh no, they won't do that," Dennis answers. "If they really like our Vassals, they'll keep them but us? The Plane of Light respected the other Planes. When you absorb another Being, they don't technically die. Their memories and personality do so it is sort of like death in a sense. Their essence is taken and preserved by the Being that absorbed them, allowing said being to take the defeated Being's place of power on their Plane. You can't gain their powers though but it is also considered to be honoring a worthy foe. The Beings of Darkness are vermin to the Light. They'll wipe our existence from the planet and if we are destroyed, Darkness itself will cease to exist and cause an imbalance. And you saw what happened after that."

Annial flashes back to that moment in front of that crack in existence. The memory of that nameless nothing threatening to overtake him made fear course through his body. He refuses to speak, afraid that his voice might shake.

"They won't listen to us about what would happen if a Plane was eradicated. Who can blame them after what the Beings of old did." Lorant shakes his head. "They hate us so much that they'd even kill anything associated to us."

"Your Vassal has an affinity for fire and Lorant has an affinity for air and energy," Dennis starts before Annial could ask what Lorant meant. "The inhabitants of this world, forged by the merging and semi-destruction of the Planes, formed on their own without any assistance from the Planes and yet, they possess capabilities similar to ours, though their abilities do not manifest unless they contract with a Being. No one knows how this came to be. It's another mystery in this world."

"So what? They have useful capabilities and work as our tools. What is the point to informing me this." Annial asks.

"While it is much more useful to have a Vassal that has an affinity for a Plane different from yours, there are those who choose to pick a Vassal with an affinity for the same element. All it would do is make the manipulation of said element stronger but even if Beings such as ourselves desired to do so, it would be impossible."

"Why?"

"Anything related to Darkness has been deemed evil by the lead Beings of Light and banned. The countries under the Light's control do not experience night nor see the moon. Owls are considered demons. Wearing black has been outlawed. Apparently that gives us power. I have yet to see how."

"Do you know how absolutely ridiculous that is?" Lorant sighs, exasperated. "They outlawed the fucking moon and goddamn owls."

"Vassals with an affinity to Darkness count as well," Dennis creates an illusion of a tall young man in a suit of armor similar to Excalibur's. He fidgets with his helmet and wears an anxious expression. "This is Imperio and his Vassal, Mordred. They are the Light's new leaders." The illusion of Mordred looks up in surprise and quickly tries to make himself look more respectable.

"Don't let his looks fool you," Lorant glares at the man with distaste. "Before he became the replacement, he was leader of the military police. He acted on the other's orders but there was one thing he set out to do out of his own volition and 'creativity' as he called it."

"Which was?" Annial was becoming impatient from their dancing around the topic.

"Remember how I said we can't contract with Vassals that have an affinity to Darkness?" Dennis reminds him. "That's because they're all dead. Imperio successfully 'exterminated' all of them."

"All of them? How can that be?"

"When the Light spread far enough, Imperio put a plan into action. Sensing a Vassal's affinity isn't hard and convincing the masses that the Darkness is an evil force isn't hard either. Propaganda stirred up mass hysteria within all the other Planes and everyone was convinced that as long as anything that gave extra power to the Darkness existed, the fallen Plane would be able to take over again."

"Imperio went around spreading fear and Persephine's pheromones did their share as well. No one questioned him when he tore an infant from its mother's arms or when he strangled it during his speech," Lorant wanted to shoot the illusion of Imperio as he fumbles with his helmet but knew that it wouldn't help. "Then he convinced the people of that city to lynch the mother and her family for harboring evil. Then he went on to do in again in the next town, and the next, and the next. Before you knew it, it became a fad amongst the people."

Annial couldn't even imagine the awkward skeleton of a man to be able to lift his sword let alone cause the murder of thousands of innocents.

"The Light are ruthless and even the meekest can become monsters when fueled with enough hatred," Dennis muses. "Not that I have any right to call them monsters. Not when our side did the same to theirs in the first takeover."

"Besides that, I don't know much about him or Mordred," Dennis switches topics. "He hasn't been in any notable battles."

The illusion of Imperio disappears once they reach the grand staircase leading down to the foyer. As they descend, the muffled sound of a large crowd outside of the castle reaches their ears.

"What is that? A rebellion already?" Annial draws his sword, preparing himself to squash any resistance.

"Calm the shit down," Lorant pushes the sword down. "We'll get to that later. There's only one other Being that I haven't mentioned. He stands as a great threat towards us. Maybe he's a bigger threat than the other three combined."

Annial waits for an illusion to pop up but Lorant had only stopped stepping down the stairs. Lorant squints at the broken stained glass on the ceiling that had been shattered by Excalibur and Annial's fight. There used to be an image of the four standing together there but now all he could make out was half of Holly's shoe.

"The Being is called Horizon and the Vassal is named Tatsuo no Akemi," Dennis says as Lorant grips the railing. "He assisted and advised Excalibur. Nearly nothing is known about him and that worries me. At least with the others, we understand how their powers work but with him, he's a wild card and the others still consider him an equal. What did he do to deserve that?"

"He'll be working for Imperio now and so will Persephine and Holly," Lorant climbs down the steps, reaching the carpeted floor of the foyer. "With Excalibur's death, the others might be panicking at how their leader was taken down so easily. They'll fight back with everything they have and unless we have a good plan, we're all going to die and end up in their corpse museums or worse."

"Excalibur was incredibly strong as you have seen," Dennis says as Annial catches up with them. The crowd outside was becoming louder. "He was there at the beginning, leading the forces of Light to fight back the Darkness with his Vassal…What was his Vassal's name?"

"Hmmm," Lorant holds the slack jawed head up to inspect. "I forgot. He and Excalibur were so in sync that they were practically one Being."

"Caliburn," The name leaps out of Annial's mouth. "The Vassal's name is Caliburn."

"Huh? How did you know that?" Dennis and Lorant ask in unison. "Did you hear about him before?"

"I…I do not know," Annial scratches his chin. "The name just came to me."

Annial glances up to the broken stain glass window. He could picture perfectly what it had looked like before it had been smashed. Excalibur stood in the center in his glorious armor, towering above the others and resting on his hands on his sword. Persephine stood to his right, holding a white bouquet of flowers whose petals floated gently to the ground. Holly was on Excalibur's left, clutching his necklace of Holly, closing his eyes as if in prayer.

To Holly's left stood a man with short black hair, a mischievous smile and brown almond shaped eyes itching to wink at his audience. He wore white robes had golden embroidered dragons and wispy clouds. Annial had the feeling that the man did not favor such heavy clothing and he would much rather have been at home writing poems and sleeping in the garden on the warm grass. He would complain about it loudly.

Funny, he had never heard of such a Being let alone have actually seen the stain glass window before it had broken.

"Anal? Yo Anal? Snap out of it." Lorant snaps his fingers in front of Annial's face and Annial slaps his hand away.

"Say that again and I will-"

"Yeah, yeah. Turn my guts into slippers or whatever. But really? Are you okay? You mentioned Caliburn's name and then you spaced out for ten minutes."

"Ten minutes? I was staring at that window for ten minutes? Why did you not try to regain my attention sooner?" Annial demands, grabbing the lapels of Lorant's coat and yanking him closer.

"I also wanted to get something to drink," Lorant hold up a mug. "Fancy, huh? They have a bunch of this sort of crap in the cup room. There's a room solely for cups."

"There was a room solely for containing a range of black teas as well," Dennis adds. "I am genuinely surprised that Excalibur did not ban black teas."

"You imbeciles," Annial releases Lorant and knocks the cup out of his hands. It flies into the air but a gust of wind brings it gently back into Lorant's palm and he has a sip. "We were discussing matters of importance and you both just left me here?"

"I wasn't the one who suddenly gained an interest in empty space, right Caliburn?" Lorant raises the severed head and jokes to it.

"Ma..s…ter."

"Oh," Lorant coughs. "Did the head just talk?"

Annial was stunned into silence but nods, raising a finger at the head's quivering blue lips.

"Ma..s…ter."

Annial, Lorant and Dennis scream in terror, alerting the guards and servants to come running. Lorant drops the head on the ground and the two back away. Annial draws his sword and Lorant brandishes his bow, dropping the cup and letting it shatter. Both their aura's of shadows flare up, heating the room and filling it with electricity.

The guards surround the head with the Annial and Lorant. They stand, ready to dice the head into cubes if it showed any signs of danger.

"Mas..ter?" The head repeats, dilated eyes turn up to Annial pleadingly before it becomes lifeless.

It stirs something in Annial's chest and he almost drops his sword.

"Stand back," Annial sheathes his sword and walks towards the head. Lorant follows him, arrow still trained on the motionless head. Annial kneels and picks the head up by its stringy brown hair. "Lorant, Dennis. Can you sense it?"

Lorant closes his eyes and he and his Master focus on the head. There was a hint of magic within the head. It was so well hidden that if no one had given any thought to that head, it would have gone unnoticed.

"Necromancy!" Lorant and Dennis announce together. "Someone has worked necromancy on this head."

"Can you trace where it came from? Who did this?" Annial stares intensely at the head, waiting for it to move again.

"No. Not without some time," Lorant and Dennis answer and Lorant shakes his head, slinging his bow back over his shoulder. "I need scholars and expert necromancers," Lorant claps his hands and several people step forward. Some were from the original Forces of Darkness while others were former subjects of the Light.

"Take the head and examine it. I want to know all that we can about when this happened, where this came from and suggestions as to why. I do not need answers immediately; Master Annial has to give his speech to the masses. You are all dismissed."

"Yes, Masters." The crowd bows and leaves. One necromancer steps forward and holds his hands out to Annial, requesting the head silently. Annial gazes dazed at the tiny hands before realizing that he should relinquish the head for the time being.

With much reluctance, he gently places the head of the fallen Vassal to the servant. He watches the servant pace away from him with the head and feels a sort of sadness curl in his stomach.

"Did you tell them that I have a speech to give?" Annial stands, deciding to distract himself with other matters.

"That's why the crowd's out there," Lorant moves towards the imposing double doors to the outside as the crowd's murmurs grow worried. "You need to assure them that they are in good hands and that we will protect them from the Light."

"You must be jesting. I do not need to present my case to my slaves," Annial scoffs, going after Lorant. "I captured them and they are my prisoners. If they know what is good for them, they will answer to my every command."

"Oh, so you think you captured slaves?" Lorant leans on the doors and crosses his arms again. "Because the people out there are convinced that you saved them. They call you hero."

"What?" Annial wasn't sure if he was hearing correctly.

Outside, he could hear chanting. They were chanting his name.

"The people out there feel that the Light had enslaved them. You burst in with your 'heroic' flames and melted their metaphorical chains," Lorant laughs, shaking his head. "Many have been persecuted by the Light. Though the Light's reasoning behind their actions are somewhat sound, some of the people associated with the other Planes or have even a hint of a connection to Darkness had been punished with great prejudice."

"And what of the people who thought the opposite; that the Light have been righteous in their actions and that I am their new slaver?"

"They already martyred themselves in the castle cellar before we could even get in." Lorant frowns, gripping his forearm and looks away from Annial. "Would rather face death than find out if the Darkness still were capable of what they did all those years ago. I couldn't do a fucking thing."

"Lorant…" Dennis says quietly.

"…Fine, I will speak to them." Annial pulls Lorant off the door and shoves him aside. "Why did you not inform me of this before?"

"The crowd gathered there themselves," Lorant tsks, brushing imaginary lint off of his sleeve. "Whisper sent me a message telling me that they had gathered while we were talking. We figured that you're good enough at bullshitting to pull a speech out of your ass."

"You insolent…" Annial raised his fist at Lorant but forces it down. "You agreed to be an advisor to me, yes? Now, perform your job properly."

"I did not agree to that!" Lorant shouts but Dennis whispers comforting words and he swallows his irritation.

"Tell them that they will be well protected against the Light. Promise them that you will allow them to be free, that they will not suffer as they did under Excalibur. Urge them to work with us and get vengeance on the Light. Tell them that we will soon be going underwater and that there won't be anything to fear. They are safe."

"Is that all?" Annial smirks under his helmet.

"What else do you want?" Lorant rolls his eyes. "Get out there. Keep them waiting any longer and they'll bust this door down."

"Good. Open the doors." Annial rearranges his armor and stands straight, chest out with his head lifted.

"Lazy asshole." Lorant mutters before backing up and clasping his hands together.

Lorant summons a gale to open the doors to the public.

The doors swing open and outside stood Josephine and Lang with their Master.

From out of the blackness of the castle, Annial steps out to the Moonlight to an audience of Beings of Darkness and their Vassals, old and newly initiated.

The crowd that fills the outer courtyard erupts into roaring applause. The sound reverberates throughout the, for the moment, completely empty city and echoes out to the mountains and fields like rolling thunder.

The sky shakes hard enough to almost fall.

**Author notes: So this chapter finally came out. I feel like there was too much talking but it flowed the right way. Now what to say about this chapter:**

**Annial and Lorant are featured heavily. The more I write Lorant, the more I like him. Annial on the other hand has become a strange example of an audience surrogate. So far, I like writing them together.**

**I actually have no idea what many of them actually look like. I give vague descriptions and let the readers imagine the rest. It's an effective way of making descriptions without boring anyone with long paragraphs. The only characters I have a definite appearance for is Holly and Persephine. They were supposed to be the protagonists before I rethought the story. I wish I had better art skills.**

**On the Forces of Darkness, we have Annial and its unnamed Vassal leading, Whisper and its Vassals Lang and Josephine as advisors and left and right hands, Dennis and his Vassal Lorant are advisors and act as an unruly third hand or something, Abyss and its unnamed main Vassal in the background with its army of secondary Vassals.**

**And on the Forces of Light, we have the new leader Imperio and its Vassal Mordred, Persephine and its unnamed Vassal as advisor and right hand, Holly and its unnamed Vassal as advisor and left hand, Horizon and its Vassal Tatsuo no Akemi who was too lazy to show up to the meeting and introduce himself in chapter 3.**

**And there was a bunch of info today. To summarize, certain Vassals have affinities to certain elements but cannot use them unless contracted to a Being, the Light has absorbed the other Planes and is in the process of destroying the Darkness, the Light's tactics are questionable but so is the Darkness' and the merging of the Planes damaged them.**

**I really should get to work on Double Edged. **

**On another unrelated note (sorta) the picture everyone voted for 'Drowning' to have isn't finished but another sketch is. There's a new temporary cover for Drowning and the full version is on our deviantart page that can be reached via link on my profile. It portrays a sketch of a later scene in Double Edged that I may be able to get to in, at the rate I'm going, five years. (orz). I'm not giving it any context by the way.**

**Special thanks to Gatchaman Crowds for getting me motivated enough to write. The opening for that anime is jammin.**

**That's all folks. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews help greatly and have a very spoopy week everyone!**


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